Dimitri Pavade

Started: He took up the sport in 2016. (huffingtonpost.fr, 26 Nov 2023; Athlete, 20 Aug 2018) Reason: He took up Para athletics while working as an intern at a prosthetics workshop. "During my internship, I met the CEO and he saw [my] musculature and dynamism. He asked me, 'Do you want to do sport? Do you want to run?' This is how I started Para athletics. He told me he supported the guy who ran the company workshop and he made it to the Barcelona 1992 Paralympics. He never met someone who gave him the will to do it again until he met me in 2015. I became an elite athlete thanks to him. He gave me everything." (huffingtonpost.fr, 26 Nov 2023; olympics.com, 28 Aug 2023) Awards: He was named as one of the captains of the Olympic and Paralympic Torch Relay for the 2024 Games in Paris. (olympics.com, 28 Aug 2023) In 2019 and 2017 he was named Athlete of the Year for the city of Colomiers, France. (ville-colomiers.fr, 01 Dec 2019; Facebook page, 26 Sep 2017) Additional Info: FROM REUNION TO FRANCE Born in Le Port on the island of Reunion, a French overseas territory, he relocated to Toulouse in mainland France in 2013. After pursuing a professional aptitude certificate, he has worked as an ortho-prosthetist technician in Toulouse. (LinkedIn profile, 01 May 2024; huffingtonpost.fr, 26 Nov 2023; haute-garonne.fr, 01 Jun 2019; Jean Philippe Rouquie YouTube channel, 28 Nov 2018; Athlete, 20 Aug 2018)